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We just got the newest Disney/Pixar film, Elemental. The critics are saying?

Well, it looks fine. It current RT scores are:

Critics: 76%
Audiences: 88%

The critical consensus is:

Elemental may not satisfy as fully as the greatest Pixar pictures, but it remains a solid story told with dazzling visual flair.

It looks like it will be a pleasant movie to see, I think I will enjoy it.

Park Soo Ryun, a South Korean-born actress best known for the Disney+ K-drama Snowdrop died at only 29.

Cause of death? She slipped down a flight of stairs and was pronounced brain dead.

www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/park-soo-ryun-disney-actress-reportedly-dead-at-29/ar-AA1cy8mH?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=4ae6b9268a4b4338b9b657c3037db2ef&ei=10

Random Fact #4619:

Today is the 30th anniversary of Jurassic Park!

Be sure to don your shutter glasses, because this Top 20 list from WatchMojo is rad!

I will buy it once I can Belchic.

Just want to put some money away first, that's all.

Thank you Belchic. Now how about we get some more 1980s goodness in?

The Little Mermaid (1989)

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Ron Clements, John Musker
Cast: Jodi Benson (Ariel), Christopher Daniel Barnes (Prince Eric), Pat Caroll (Ursula), Kenneth Mars (King Triton), Samuel E. Wright (Sebastian), Jason Marin (Flounder), Buddy Hackett (Scuttle), Paddi Edwards (Flotsam, Jetsam), Ben Wright (Sir Grimsby), Edie McClurg (Carlotta), Will Ryan (Seahorse), Rene Auberjonois (Louis the Chef)
Runtime: 83 min.
MPAA rating: G (all ages admitted)

This movie is about a fun-loving and adventurous mermaid named Ariel who is fascinated with all things human. Having filled up a whole grotto with her finds on human life, she longs for something more, regardless of the wishes of her father, the powerful King Triton, who thinks there is nothing good coming from the human world. One day, Ariel swims to the surface and in the middle of a hurricane, saves the life of the handsome Prince Eric. Determined to be with him, she seeks out the aid of the treacherous sea witch Ursula, who agrees to trade her human legs in exchange for her beautiful singing voice. Together with her friends, the introverted Flounder, the reggae-singing court composer crab Sebastian and the featherbrained seagull Scuttle, can Ariel win Prince Eric over and save her father’s kingdom before it falls into Ursula’s tentacles?

I’m sure you have had some sort of history with this movie. The Little Mermaid began life as one of Disney’s earliest projects, originally starting off as what would have been part of an anthology film about the stories by Hans Christian Andersen. Resurfacing in the 1980s by Ron Clements during work on The Great Mouse Detective, it is often cited as the movie that started the Disney Renaissance. During this time, it was widely known that Disney had not been in the best shape since Walt himself died. After spending the 1970s and a good part of the 1980s without much success, this movie would bring Disney back to the forefront of the animation industry; it earned rave reviews and won several awards for its music.

Being that this was their first fairy tale since Sleeping Beauty in 1959, it became a highly popular film; Ariel is one of the most popular Disney Princesses, standing even toe-to-toe with Elsa and Anna on Frozen. But does it deserve its status? I guess it’s time for me to give my thoughts on this 1989 classic.

I should start with the movie’s story. Based on the story originally written by Hans Christian Andersen, you have a story set in what we could describe as a late-1700s setting about a beautiful mermaid that falls for a human prince and wants to give up her fins to be a human lady. She goes through some questionable means to get what she wants in hopes of it working out. The movie’s story does follow a very familiar path without a lot of reworkings, but the execution and personality more than make up for it as you have a vibrant and joyous story being told. The movie’s atmosphere is very deep almost like you are looking back into the original setting and it felt so lively and creative which was missing during the lull that occurred after the Disney corporation lost its founder. Even today it still enjoys a very loyal fanbase; not everything needs to be overly complicated. The movie does have some themes that some may find iffy, like how Ariel is willing to sacrifice everything to be with a prince. However, the concept of romance is very much a heavy theme and people can overlook that to embrace the sweet side of it, as well as some other themes that can be translated to more modern times, like not trusting a loan shark or people that commit shady business deals.

If there are any negative things about the story, there are a few stereotypes that were fair for their day, like how Ariel is supposed to be a heroine and has a supermodel’s body and King Triton has raging pectoral muscles while Ursula is the villain and is clearly a fat woman. Louis is a bloodthirsty French chef and his sequences where he wants to kill Sebastian to make stuffed crab is meant to be for humor. Oh yeah, and the snarfblatt? You know, the pipe? People would never get away with suggesting what that is used for in a kids’ film right now! Getting past some of these issues is not a problem though and to hate these issues is distracting viewers from a very entertaining story; many people even prefer this movie's happy end to the book's tragic end.

The movie’s animation is another strong aspect; it is all in cel-animation and indeed, this is would be the final major Disney animated film to not utilize any CGI whatsoever. There is plenty of visual spectacle to take in, like some of the water effects while the characters are underwater or the bubbles that result after a fast motion. The movie does make good use of color too, like how Ariel and Flounder are swimming about in a sunken galleon and it’s completely dark or the happier moments like when Prince Eric takes Ariel on a tour of his kingdom. The movie does make some very solid sound effects like how when the shark that menaces Ariel and Flounder you get the feeling like you might be walking through an aquarium. The climax does present a feeling of real danger as well as the light blue effects on normal flesh tones suggest Ursula now has power over the ocean and now can bend it to her will.

Indeed, the only thing that might throw someone off is how many times the humans and mer-people (there are merboys alongside mermaids, after all) are animated very much like human characters, whereas the animal characters (ie. Sebastian, Flounder, Scuttle, Flotsam, Jetsam, all the fish in general) seem to be more like toons. Flounder does seem like he’s supposed to be big and fat while Sebastian has plenty of ‘animated’ moments (such as how his eyes can pop out from their sockets). Eric’s sheepdog Max seems like he is meant to be as animated as possible! Regardless, there is enough of a balance between the realism and the toony side to provide a very strong sense of coherency and to nitpick too much would be distracting from all the undersea beauty!

Now, for the characters. You do have a good number of them here and they will leave a big impression. Ariel is the gateway into the movie’s world being that she is smart, adventurous and brave. If you want any indication that this movie is meant to be seen from a woman’s viewpoint she is a strong example. This can be misread, as probably the biggest contribution that she makes during the climax is when Ursula tries to kill Eric she intervenes and Ursula winds up killing Flotsam and Jetsam on accident. Oops. However, I don’t tend to think of this as bad, as clearly Ariel wants to be submissive while Eric is her strong, manly protector. These characterizations don’t tend to make her any less popular though! Voice actress Tara Strong even went on to say she is her favorite Disney Princess!
Her father, King Triton, is the just and noble ruler of Atlantica who is overprotective of his youngest daughter; he does not wish to see her get nabbed by some surface-dwellers and has stereotypes that they are nothing but savages that just take from his ocean. He is supposed to be a roadblock that Ariel would have to convince that Eric is worthy of his daughter’s hand in marriage. Sebastian the crab is the court composer who gets tasked with supervising Ariel, he has scores of personality and his highly animated moments make him entertaining. I even will confess that due to his swing and musical influence, I happen to have a thing for Caribbean beats. Flounder is Ariel’s best friend and meant to be her closest confidant; compared to Ariel he’s timid and much meeker. Clearly nothing is meant to be between him and Ariel. Scuttle the seagull is a little more limited compared to the other two; clearly he can’t be underwater with them at all times but his role is to be Ariel’s link to the human world being that he shares her fascination with humans. He doesn’t always get his facts right but he’s also a very entertaining character. The movie’s villain is Ursula the sea witch, a woman who was exiled from King Triton’s palace presumably because he did not agree with how she was making use of her magical talents. As a character, Ursula is very feminine but her only lust is for power; she does claim to have mended her past but everyone knows that a leopard never changes its spots. Her eel henchmen, Flotsam and Jetsam, are a pair of symbiotic pets who are always together; their job is to help make Ursula seem all the viler.

If you don’t look at some of the minor characters, the weakest of the leading characters might be Prince Eric. He does have some hints of a character like how he doesn’t have much drive to settle down with a princess and get married but he doesn’t have much of a personality. Not saying he was bad, just he didn’t get much to go on. Probably the only other character of note would be Grimsby, Eric’s loyal steward. The movie’s clearly loaded with a very memorable cast!

Now I have to tell you about the songs. This collaboration between Howard Ashman and Alan Menken produced some highly memorable songs that you would be singing for a great long time; it technically brought Broadway into animation! It starts with “Fathoms Below” which I think would be appropriate for an introduction to how there is a vast and colorful assortment of life under the sea. “Daughters of Triton” is more or less our lead into Ariel’s introduction. “Part of Your World” is Ariel’s “I Want” song that details her fascination with human culture and is important to her goal and character. It gives us insight on her desires to be more than a simple mermaid and see the world beyond her grotto; in fact this is likely what inspired a lot more animated films to do a similar song! It is highly memorable and makes people empathetic with her; she wants to grow and learn. It is no wonder it is one of their most memorable songs. “Under the Sea” is Sebastian’s showstopper song where Sebastian tells Ariel about why she should forego land life to remain in the ocean; you have no worries under the sea as opposed to the drudgery of life on land. Indeed, this Caribbean-influenced song would go on to win multiple awards and is a staple of Disney’s greatest tunes. “Poor Unfortunate Souls” is Ursula’s “Villain Song” that details her past and what she can do for Ariel, while simultaneously masking her malevolent intentions. “Les Poissons” is more of a “Comical Situation song” where Louis the French chef is preparing Eric’s meal not knowing Sebastian is utterly engrossed by what he’s seeing. “Kiss the Girl” is the "Love Song” where Sebastian, Flounder and Scuttle try to get Eric to kiss Ariel, thereby breaking the spell Ursula put on her. This is another highly notable song in that it tells Eric he needs to be the assertive one in his romance with Ariel, giving some adherence to gender roles. This song was also nominated for multiple awards but did not win; in all fairness though it would lose to “Under the Sea”. The soundtrack is one of the best parts of the movie!

The Little Mermaid is a classic Disney film and for good reason; with it’s simple yet compelling story, classic cel-animation that still looks great, highly memorable characters and rockin’ soundtrack, this is a movie that will never go away! Cementing that fact is that in 2022, this movie was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. That means it can now sit together with some all-time greats that includes Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King! Time will tell if Aladdin can join them but I’m very happy to say The Little Mermaid is a gem and one you should make, pardon the expression, “Part of Your World”!



The Little Mermaid (1989)
TreyVore rates it: A